This invention relates to diagnostics and monitoring systems, and more particularly to a method and system for processing incoming monitored data from a remote asset, such as a locomotive, where the system automatically, or with limited user interface, evaluates and determines whether the monitored data is within predetermined operating thresholds.
A locomotive is a complex system comprised of many subsystems. Many of the subsystems need fluids, such as oil, coolant, fuel, and other lubricating fluids for operation. If any of these fluids become contaminated or the fluid levels drop below acceptable operational limits, any one of these fluids may result in engine failure during operation or may reduce the reliability of the engine not failing before its next scheduled maintenance. Having less than adequate fluid could result in components running hot or operating in a mode that is not considered optimum for the given component.
Systems exist which are capable of measuring the quality and level of an engine""s various fluids. For example, it is believed that U.S. Pat. No. 5,964,318 discloses a system for measuring the quality and level of lubricants in an engine, specifically in an lubricant reservoir, wherein new lubricant is injected as needed. The state of the lubricant is then communicated to a remote site through a data link.
However even if a system can detect that a lubricant level is low and replace the missing lubricant, it does not appear to determine how the less than optimum fluid level has effected the engine, nor has it determined whether the lubricant has been contaminated.
Towards this end, there is a particular need to a method or process to automatically, or with limited user interface, detect anomalous conditions of a remote asset. This method or process can be achieved with a series of algorithms to build a data set based on historical data and then apply statistical scripts to the data set to perform several iterations of statistical analysis on the data collected from a remote asset which are eventually applied to current data collected. The process enables a more accurate and precise monitoring and diagnosis of a remote asset""s anomalous condition via a reduction in the false alarm rate associated with the input thresholds or limits. This is accomplished by a reduction in the variability of the input signal via application of a standardization algorithm and optimum choice of trending parameters.
The method comprises collecting data from the remote asset, building a data set based on the data collected, applying statistical scripts to the data set to create a statistical model, comparing the statistical model to the data set, and creating a standardization model from the compared statistical model and the data set, applying a trending algorithm to the data, deriving statistical based control limits, and applying the control limits to a new set of data.